Where Your Loyalties Lie
by FuryOfTheBlackbird
Summary: Short one-shot about the deterioration of Dark Ace and Cyclonis' relationship after Energy Crisis. Non-pairing.


A little something I wrote as requested on tumblr (checkeredtablesloth if you want to check it out or request something yourself). Hope you enjoy!

* * *

 _He knelt at the foot of an iron throne, the black haired man, fist over his heart as a sign of his undying loyalty. Soon he would be known as the Dark Ace, but to day he was known only as a traitor._

 _Lightning lit the bloodstained sky around him ablaze with power, each flash sharpening the features of the aging woman gazing down at the kneeling man with an expression of discontent, not just for him, but all of Atmos. A young girl sat in her lap, the heiress to this wretched throne, a ragged doll that must have resembled a rabbit once clutched to her chest. She observed the scene, expression mirroring that of the Empress'._

 _"Swear your loyalty, traitor." The Empress commanded._

 _"I swear upon my life and honour to serve and protect the Cyclonis line for as long as I live. I am yours to to command, Master." The man looked up at her, eyes still black, yet to be stained by the blood of fallen Sky Knights._

 _"Rise." She ordered, and the man obeyed. "From this point forward, you will be known not by the name you were born with, but as The Dark Ace, servant of Cyclonia."_

 _"Yes, Master." He said now, fist over his heart once more. This was loyalty as the child knew it, something that rightfully belonged to the powerful, and would be hers one day. It was her birthright, and his destiny._

* * *

It was just like that day, ten long years ago, the sky filled with lightning. A man with black hair knelt before the current Master of Cyclonia. This one was significantly smaller than her predecessor, but filled with a far more potent form of hatred for the world. Her skin a pale white due to her paranoia driven desire to remain within the safety of Cyclonia. Lark was her real name, though no one besides her long gone blood relatives knew of it, not even the servant she once trusted the most.

"Rise, Dark Ace." She commanded, voice both ethereal and menacing. The Dark Ace, obeyed.

"Master…" He began, a pathetic excuse for his disloyalty no doubt on the tip of his tongue. How pathetic.

"Silence!" Cyclonis spoke sharply, her words causing the man before her to flinch ever so slightly. It was most likely no one besides her would have noticed. "I've had enough of your excuses. I had orders for you, but you were too busy chasing that _Sky Knight_ behind my back."

"Master, if we are to reign victorious, he must be eliminated!" The Dark Ace insisted.

"And he would have been if it weren't for your previous failures." She shot back at him, violet eyes piercing him like shards of glass. "But that is not what we're here to discuss. Incompetence is tolerable, but disloyalty, I have no patience for." Fear flickered across his eyes.

"You misunderstand, I seek only to serve." He said, putting his fist over his heart. How dare he pair a gesture of honour with such lies. There was a time when this was true, when he would respond to her commands flawlessly without hesitation. Once, when she was little, she had ordered him to execute a Talon soldier because she didn't like him. He didn't even blink. Cyclonis couldn't even remember why she didn't like that particular Talon. But those times were over. They had ended long ago with his defeat by the hand of that Sky Knight. It was pride, that drove him now. An undesirable quality in those that served them, as her grandmother once taught her. It only led disloyalty, which above all was the highest form of betrayal. She could see now that this was true, as much as she wished it were not.

"Then send me Ravess. I have a job for her."

"Your highness, if you would allow me-" Cyclonis could hear the beginnings of desperation in his voice. Pitiful. She could not believe he was the once the only person she could truly count on.

"No. I need someone who will get the job done. Now get out of my sight."

"Yes, Master…" He said, bowing as he left. The Master was alone again. Perhaps her grandmother was right all along. The only person you can really trust is yourself. How foolish she was to believe otherwise.


End file.
